1987 MLB Leaders and Award Winners

2 leagues · 162 team games · 46 ranking tables · 42 awards

Awards

Most Valuable Player

George BellAmerican League
Andre DawsonNational League

Cy Young Award

Steve BedrosianNational League
Roger ClemensAmerican League

Rookie of the Year

Mark McGwireAmerican League
Benito SantiagoNational League

Gold Glove

Jesse BarfieldAmerican League
Bob BooneAmerican League
Eric DavisNational League
Andre DawsonNational League
Tony FernandezAmerican League
Gary GaettiAmerican League
Tony GwynnNational League
Keith HernandezNational League
Mark LangstonAmerican League
Mike LaValliereNational League
Don MattinglyAmerican League
Terry PendletonNational League
Kirby PuckettAmerican League
Rick ReuschelNational League
Ryne SandbergNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Frank WhiteAmerican League
Dave WinfieldAmerican League

Silver Slugger

George BellAmerican League
Wade BoggsAmerican League
Jack ClarkNational League
Eric DavisNational League
Andre DawsonNational League
Dwight EvansAmerican League
Bob ForschNational League
Tony GwynnNational League
Don MattinglyAmerican League
Paul MolitorAmerican League
Matt NokesAmerican League
Kirby PuckettAmerican League
Juan SamuelNational League
Benito SantiagoNational League
Ozzie SmithNational League
Alan TrammellAmerican League
Tim WallachNational League
Lou WhitakerAmerican League

American League

Led the American League — the first row of every table below.

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Paul Molitor	114
2	George Bell	111
3	Brian Downing	110
3	Lou Whitaker	110
5	Dwight Evans	109
5	Alan Trammell	109
7	Wade Boggs	108
8	Lloyd Moseby	106
9	Kevin Seitzer	105
10	Devon White	103

HitsH

1	Kirby Puckett	207
1	Kevin Seitzer	207
3	Alan Trammell	205
4	Wade Boggs	200
5	Robin Yount	198
6	George Bell	188
7	Tony Fernandez	186
7	Don Mattingly	186
9	Danny Tartabull	180
10	Phil Bradley	179

Doubles2B

1	Paul Molitor	41
2	Wade Boggs	40
3	Phil Bradley	38
3	Ivan Calderon	38
3	Don Mattingly	38
3	Lou Whitaker	38
7	Alvin Davis	37
7	Dwight Evans	37
9	Gary Gaetti	36
10	Jose Canseco	35
10	Ruben Sierra	35

Triples3B

1	Willie Wilson	15
2	Phil Bradley	10
2	Luis Polonia	10
4	Robin Yount	9
5	Brett Butler	8
5	Tony Fernandez	8
5	Harold Reynolds	8
5	Kevin Seitzer	8
9	Glenn Braggs	7
9	Mike Felder	7
9	Greg Gagne	7
9	Ozzie Guillen	7
9	Spike Owen	7

Home RunsHR

1	Mark McGwire	49
2	George Bell	47
3	Darrell Evans	34
3	Dwight Evans	34
3	Kent Hrbek	34
3	Wally Joyner	34
3	Danny Tartabull	34
8	Cory Snyder	33
9	Tom Brunansky	32
9	Joe Carter	32
9	Brook Jacoby	32
9	Matt Nokes	32
9	Mike Pagliarulo	32
9	Larry Parrish	32

Runs Batted InRBI

1	George Bell	134
2	Dwight Evans	123
3	Mark McGwire	118
4	Wally Joyner	117
5	Don Mattingly	115
6	Jose Canseco	113
7	Gary Gaetti	109
7	Ruben Sierra	109
9	Joe Carter	106
10	Alan Trammell	105

WalksBB

1	Brian Downing	106
1	Dwight Evans	106
3	Wade Boggs	105
4	Darrell Evans	100
5	Brett Butler	91
6	Rob Deer	86
7	Phil Bradley	84
7	Kent Hrbek	84
9	Willie Randolph	82
10	Cal Ripken	81

Stolen BasesSB

1	Harold Reynolds	60
2	Willie Wilson	59
3	Gary Redus	52
4	Paul Molitor	45
5	Rickey Henderson	41
6	Phil Bradley	40
7	Lloyd Moseby	39
8	Mike Felder	34
9	Brett Butler	33
10	Tony Fernandez	32
10	Julio Franco	32
10	Devon White	32

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Wade Boggs	8.6
2	Alan Trammell	7.3
3	Paul Molitor	6.6
4	Kevin Seitzer	6.1
5	Brook Jacoby	6.1
6	Brett Butler	5.6
7	Robin Yount	5.5
8	Mark McGwire	5.5
9	Dwight Evans	5.4
10	Rickey Henderson	5.4

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	.363
2	Paul Molitor	.353
3	Alan Trammell	.343
4	Kirby Puckett	.332
5	Don Mattingly	.327
6	Kevin Seitzer	.323
7	Tony Fernandez	.322
8	Julio Franco	.319
9	Larry Sheets	.316
10	Robin Yount	.312

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	.461
2	Paul Molitor	.438
3	Dwight Evans	.417
4	Willie Randolph	.411
5	Alan Trammell	.402
6	Brian Downing	.400
7	Brett Butler	.399
7	Kevin Seitzer	.399
9	Danny Tartabull	.390
10	Julio Franco	.389
10	Kent Hrbek	.389

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Mark McGwire	.618
2	George Bell	.605
3	Wade Boggs	.588
4	Dwight Evans	.569
5	Paul Molitor	.566
6	Larry Sheets	.563
7	Don Mattingly	.559
8	Alan Trammell	.551
9	Kent Hrbek	.545
10	Brook Jacoby	.541
10	Danny Tartabull	.541

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Wade Boggs	1.049
2	Paul Molitor	1.003
3	Mark McGwire	.987
4	Dwight Evans	.986
5	George Bell	.957
6	Alan Trammell	.953
7	Don Mattingly	.937
8	Kent Hrbek	.934
9	Danny Tartabull	.931
10	Brook Jacoby	.928

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Roger Clemens	20
1	Dave Stewart	20
3	Mark Langston	19
4	Teddy Higuera	18
4	Charlie Hough	18
4	Jack Morris	18
4	Bret Saberhagen	18
8	Jimmy Key	17
8	Walt Terrell	17
8	Frank Viola	17

SavesSV

1	Tom Henke	34
2	Jeff Reardon	31
2	Dave Righetti	31
4	Dan Plesac	23
5	DeWayne Buice	17
6	Dennis Eckersley	16
6	Jay Howell	16
6	Dale Mohorcic	16
6	Bobby Thigpen	16
10	Tom Niedenfuer	14

StrikeoutsSO

1	Mark Langston	262
2	Roger Clemens	256
3	Teddy Higuera	240
4	Charlie Hough	223
5	Jack Morris	208
6	Dave Stewart	205
7	Frank Viola	197
8	Bert Blyleven	196
9	Mike Witt	192
10	Bruce Hurst	190

Innings PitchedIP

1	Charlie Hough	285.3
2	Roger Clemens	281.7
3	Mark Langston	272.0
4	Bert Blyleven	267.0
5	Jack Morris	266.0
6	Teddy Higuera	261.7
7	Dave Stewart	261.3
8	Jimmy Key	261.0
9	Bret Saberhagen	257.0
10	Frank Viola	251.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Roger Clemens	18
2	Bruce Hurst	15
2	Bret Saberhagen	15
4	Teddy Higuera	14
4	Mark Langston	14
6	Charlie Hough	13
6	Jack Morris	13
8	Mike Moore	12
9	Floyd Bannister	11
9	Danny Jackson	11

ShutoutsSHO

1	Roger Clemens	7
2	Bret Saberhagen	4
3	Teddy Higuera	3
3	Bruce Hurst	3
3	Mark Langston	3
3	Charlie Leibrandt	3
3	Frank Tanana	3
8	Floyd Bannister	2
8	Mike Boddicker	2
8	Tom Candiotti	2
8	Richard Dotson	2
8	Mark Gubicza	2
8	Charles Hudson	2
8	Danny Jackson	2
8	Bill Long	2
8	Mike Morgan	2
8	Dave Schmidt	2
8	Jeff Sellers	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Roger Clemens	7.2
2	Teddy Higuera	5.8
3	Mark Langston	4.9
4	Jimmy Key	4.6
5	Bret Saberhagen	4.5
6	Frank Viola	4.4
7	Jim Clancy	4.1
8	Charlie Leibrandt	3.8
9	Dave Stewart	3.7
10	Danny Jackson	3.7

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Jimmy Key	2.76
2	Frank Viola	2.90
3	Roger Clemens	2.97
4	Bret Saberhagen	3.36
5	Jack Morris	3.38
6	Charlie Leibrandt	3.41
7	Jim Clancy	3.54
8	Floyd Bannister	3.58
9	Dave Stewart	3.69
10	Charlie Hough	3.79

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Jimmy Key	1.06
2	Floyd Bannister	1.16
3	Bret Saberhagen	1.16
4	Curt Young	1.17
5	Roger Clemens	1.18
6	Frank Viola	1.18
7	Jack Morris	1.20
8	Bill Long	1.23
9	Teddy Higuera	1.23
10	Frank Tanana	1.24

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Roger Clemens	2.91
2	Teddy Higuera	3.25
3	Chris Bosio	3.38
4	Jimmy Key	3.61
5	Bret Saberhagen	3.66
6	Frank Viola	3.66
7	Jim Clancy	3.68
8	Mark Langston	3.69
9	Danny Jackson	3.71
10	Dave Stewart	3.77

National League

Led the National League — the first row of every table below.

Batting13 categories

RunsR

1	Tim Raines	123
2	Vince Coleman	121
3	Eric Davis	120
4	Tony Gwynn	119
5	Dale Murphy	115
6	Juan Samuel	113
7	Darryl Strawberry	108
8	Ozzie Smith	104
9	Mitch Webster	101
10	Barry Bonds	99

HitsH

1	Tony Gwynn	218
2	Pedro Guerrero	184
3	Ozzie Smith	182
4	Vince Coleman	180
5	Andre Dawson	178
5	Juan Samuel	178
7	Bill Doran	177
7	Willie McGee	177
7	Tim Wallach	177
10	Tim Raines	175

Doubles2B

1	Tim Wallach	42
2	Andres Galarraga	40
2	Ozzie Smith	40
4	Lenny Dykstra	37
4	Dion James	37
4	Willie McGee	37
4	Juan Samuel	37
8	Tony Gwynn	36
8	Von Hayes	36
8	Andy Van Slyke	36

Triples3B

1	Juan Samuel	15
2	Tony Gwynn	13
3	Willie McGee	11
3	Andy Van Slyke	11
5	Vince Coleman	10
6	Barry Bonds	9
6	Milt Thompson	9
8	Dave Martinez	8
8	Tim Raines	8
8	Mitch Webster	8

Home RunsHR

1	Andre Dawson	49
2	Dale Murphy	44
3	Darryl Strawberry	39
4	Eric Davis	37
5	Howard Johnson	36
6	Jack Clark	35
6	Will Clark	35
6	Mike Schmidt	35
9	Kevin McReynolds	29
10	Juan Samuel	28

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Andre Dawson	137
2	Tim Wallach	123
3	Mike Schmidt	113
4	Jack Clark	106
5	Willie McGee	105
5	Dale Murphy	105
7	Darryl Strawberry	104
8	Eric Davis	100
8	Juan Samuel	100
10	Howard Johnson	99

WalksBB

1	Jack Clark	136
2	Von Hayes	121
3	Dale Murphy	115
4	Darryl Strawberry	97
5	Tim Raines	90
6	Ozzie Smith	89
7	Eric Davis	84
8	Howard Johnson	83
8	Mike Schmidt	83
10	Bill Doran	82
10	Tony Gwynn	82

Stolen BasesSB

1	Vince Coleman	109
2	Tony Gwynn	56
3	Billy Hatcher	53
4	Eric Davis	50
4	Tim Raines	50
6	Milt Thompson	46
7	Ozzie Smith	43
8	Gerald Perry	42
9	Steve Sax	37
10	Darryl Strawberry	36

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Eric Davis	8.6
2	Tony Gwynn	6.6
3	Dale Murphy	6.6
4	Mike Schmidt	6.3
5	Tim Raines	6.2
6	Jack Clark	5.9
7	Darryl Strawberry	5.8
8	Ozzie Smith	5.7
9	Kal Daniels	5.0
10	Randy Ready	4.9

Batting Averagemin 502 PA

1	Tony Gwynn	.370
2	Pedro Guerrero	.338
3	Tim Raines	.330
4	John Kruk	.313
5	Dion James	.312
6	Will Clark	.308
7	Andres Galarraga	.305
8	Ozzie Smith	.303
9	Milt Thompson	.302
10	Bobby Bonilla	.300
10	Benito Santiago	.300

On-Base Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Jack Clark	.459
2	Tony Gwynn	.447
3	Tim Raines	.429
4	Dale Murphy	.417
5	Pedro Guerrero	.416
6	John Kruk	.406
7	Von Hayes	.404
8	Eric Davis	.399
9	Darryl Strawberry	.398
10	Dion James	.397

Slugging Percentagemin 502 PA

1	Jack Clark	.597
2	Eric Davis	.593
3	Darryl Strawberry	.583
4	Will Clark	.580
4	Dale Murphy	.580
6	Andre Dawson	.568
7	Mike Schmidt	.548
8	Pedro Guerrero	.539
9	Tim Raines	.526
10	Tim Wallach	.514

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 502 PA

1	Jack Clark	1.055
2	Dale Murphy	.997
3	Eric Davis	.991
4	Darryl Strawberry	.981
5	Tony Gwynn	.958
6	Pedro Guerrero	.955
6	Tim Raines	.955
8	Will Clark	.951
9	Mike Schmidt	.936
10	Andre Dawson	.896

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Rick Sutcliffe	18
2	Shane Rawley	17
3	Orel Hershiser	16
3	Mike Scott	16
5	Dwight Gooden	15
5	Zane Smith	15
5	Bob Welch	15
8	Doyle Alexander	14
8	Bill Gullickson	14
8	Fernando Valenzuela	14

SavesSV

1	Steve Bedrosian	40
2	Lee Smith	36
3	Todd Worrell	33
4	John Franco	32
5	Roger McDowell	25
6	Dave Smith	24
7	Don Robinson	19
8	Tim Burke	18
8	Gene Garber	18
10	Lance McCullers	16
10	Jesse Orosco	16

StrikeoutsSO

1	Nolan Ryan	270
2	Mike Scott	233
3	Bob Welch	196
4	Orel Hershiser	190
4	Fernando Valenzuela	190
6	Rick Sutcliffe	174
7	Ron Darling	167
8	Bob Sebra	156
9	Dwight Gooden	148
10	Jamie Moyer	147

Innings PitchedIP

1	Orel Hershiser	264.7
2	Bob Welch	251.7
3	Fernando Valenzuela	251.0
4	Mike Scott	247.7
5	Zane Smith	242.0
6	Rick Sutcliffe	237.3
7	Shane Rawley	229.7
8	Rick Reuschel	227.0
9	Bill Gullickson	213.0
10	Nolan Ryan	211.7

Complete GamesCG

1	Rick Reuschel	12
1	Fernando Valenzuela	12
3	Orel Hershiser	10
4	Zane Smith	9
5	Mike Scott	8
6	Dwight Gooden	7
7	Doyle Alexander	6
7	Brian Fisher	6
7	Rick Sutcliffe	6
7	Bob Welch	6

ShutoutsSHO

1	Rick Reuschel	4
1	Bob Welch	4
3	Doyle Alexander	3
3	Kelly Downs	3
3	Dave Dravecky	3
3	Brian Fisher	3
3	Dwight Gooden	3
3	Mike Scott	3
3	Eric Show	3
3	Zane Smith	3
3	Floyd Youmans	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Nolan Ryan	6.2
2	Orel Hershiser	5.6
3	Mike Scott	5.6
4	Bob Welch	4.7
5	Rick Reuschel	4.6
6	Dwight Gooden	4.3
7	Zane Smith	3.5
8	Bob Sebra	3.2
9	Rick Sutcliffe	3.1
10	Joe Magrane	3.0

Earned Run Averagemin 162 IP

1	Nolan Ryan	2.76
2	Doyle Alexander	3.02
3	Mike Dunne	3.03
4	Orel Hershiser	3.06
5	Rick Reuschel	3.09
6	Dwight Gooden	3.21
7	Bob Welch	3.22
8	Mike Scott	3.23
9	Dave Dravecky	3.43
10	Joe Magrane	3.54

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 162 IP

1	Rick Reuschel	1.10
2	Doyle Alexander	1.12
3	Mike Scott	1.12
4	Nolan Ryan	1.14
5	Bob Welch	1.15
6	Doug Drabek	1.20
6	Dwight Gooden	1.20
8	Orel Hershiser	1.21
9	Don Carman	1.25
10	Bill Gullickson	1.26

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 162 IP

1	Nolan Ryan	2.47
2	Dwight Gooden	2.94
3	Mike Scott	3.10
4	Orel Hershiser	3.21
5	Rick Reuschel	3.33
6	Bob Sebra	3.40
7	Bob Welch	3.47
8	Kelly Downs	3.52
9	Joe Magrane	3.60
10	Dave Dravecky	3.73

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1987 is 502 plate appearances and 162 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 162 games per team, measured from the season files themselves — at the official rate of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning per team game. Batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, earned run average and WHIP all use it; a player who came to the plate twice and got two hits does not appear at the top of the batting average table, which is exactly what that line is for. Counting statistics such as home runs and strikeouts have no minimum, because none is needed.

How the rankings were made

Wins above replacement in these tables is ours rather than the source database's, so it will not match a published figure exactly. Also: why every ranking stops at one league, and why some categories are missing on purpose.

Every ranking on this page is worked out inside one league. 1987 is counted as 2 separate leagues — American League and National League, and a player is ranked only against the men in his own. Leading the American League and leading baseball are different claims, and the one we can make from these files is the first. There is no combined table anywhere on this page, because adding two leagues together would produce a number that no record book recognises.

There are 46 ranking tables here, 18 places deep. Players tied on a value share a place, so a table can run past ten rows when the tenth spot is shared, and a league with fewer than ten qualified players in a category is left out rather than shown as a top ten that is not one. A player who did none of the thing is not ranked in it either — a shutout table lists the pitchers who threw one, not the hundreds who threw none tied on zero. Some categories are missing on purpose: nobody leads a league in strikeouts at the plate, in losses, or in home runs allowed. A ranking is meant to mark an achievement, so only achievements are ranked.

Wins above replacement on this page is ours, not the source database's. The hitting and pitching files carry a WAR column that we compute here from the same season lines you see, using park factors and a run environment worked out per season. Published versions elsewhere use different methods and will not match ours exactly. Every other column is the record as the database supplies it.

Names on this page lead to that player's own record. Most of them open a full career page with every season he appeared in. Some open a summary screen instead — we pre-build pages for the players people look for, and everyone else is assembled on demand from the same files, so the numbers are identical either way even though the address looks different.

Data for 1871 to 2025: Lahman Baseball Database 2025, compiled by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Negro Leagues data licensed from Seamheads.com and included under SABR major-league recommendations (2021-02-11, 2024-06-03). This page ranks the 1987 season lines published on this site, league by league, with WAR worked out here. — the WAR columns are computed here — and they are published under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence, as ShareAlike requires. That database is published once a season is complete, so the 2026 figures on this site come from a different place: the MLB Stats API, whose notice reads “Copyright 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Use of any content on this page acknowledges agreement to the terms posted here http://gdx.mlb.com/components/copyright.txt”. Those numbers are MLB Advanced Media, L.P.’s, not SABR (Society for American Baseball Research)’s, and they carry that notice rather than the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence above. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Major League Baseball or any of its clubs.